Reported runaway arrested; social media complicates case

A reported 14-year-old runaway was brought back to Bartlesville late Sunday evening after being found in Verdigris.

A reported 14-year-old runaway was brought back to Bartlesville late Sunday evening after being found in Verdigris.

According to Bartlesville Police Department Captain Jay Hastings, after the girl was located, she was brought back to Bartlesville where she was arrested for being a runaway.

"Basically, what you have is a 14-year-old runaway that ran away Saturday night," Hastings told the Examiner-Enterprise Monday. "Sometime in the middle of the night she ran away from home and the parents reported her as a runaway at about 10:52 a.m. Sunday morning."

He says that, at that point, officers were dispatched in reference to the runaway child, which is not uncommon in similar situations. However, the case became more complicated when, largely through social media sites Facebook and Twitter, it was suggested that the girl was not a runaway, but that she was missing and had possibly been hurt.

"At some point in time, someone posted a picture of her on Facebook where she appeared to be injured, and I’m not exactly sure where this got twisted around," Hastings said.

"There is a difference between someone who runs away from home and someone who is missing. In order for someone to be considered missing, we would have to have reason to believe that they were missing against their will and evidence that they didn’t leave on their own."

He says that the runaway status actually added to the confusion on social media.

"If someone is a listed as a runaway, there will not be personal information given, but if someone is suspected to be missing or some foul play is suspected, all vitals would be released along with a picture."

According to Hastings, the picture of the girl that had been circulated "turned out to be an old picture."

"This is similar to that old example … when a story gets passed around enough, it gets magnified," he said.

"Social media is a great tool and can be use to help to locate someone, but, in a situation like this … people need to be careful about how the information is posted so as not to give the wrong impression."